Assessing daily management in childhood diabetes.

168 patients (aged 6–19 yrs) with childhood diabetes and their parents participated in 24-hr recall interviews concerning daily diabetes management behavior. Data were used to construct measures of 13 adherence behaviors. Parent–patient agreement was good to excellent for most of the 13 behaviors. Agreement was influenced by the patient's age, with the most consistently high parent–child agreement found in the 10–25 yr age group. Adherence in childhood diabetes appears to be a complex construct, consisting of at least 5 components unrelated to each other. Teenagers in the present study were less adherent than their younger counterparts on most of the adherence measures studied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Water Use and Conservation in Manufacturing: Evidence from U.S. Microdata

Water can be a scarce resource, particularly in certain places at certain times. Understanding both water use and conservation efforts can help ensure that limited supplies can meet the demands of a growing population and economy. This paper examines water use and recirculation in the U.S. manufacturing sector, using newly recovered microdata from the Survey of Water Use in Manufacturing, merged with establishment-level data from the Annual Survey of Manufactures and the Census of Manufactures. Results suggest that water use per unit of output is largest for larger establishments, in part because larger establishments use water for more purposes. Larger establishments are also found to recirculate water more — satisfying demand (water use) without necessarily increasing water intake. Various costs also appear to play a role in water recirculation. In particular, the water circulation rate is found to be higher when water is purchased from a utility. Relatively low (internal) prices for self-supplied water could suppress the incentive to invest in recirculation. Meanwhile, establishments with higher per-gallon intake treatment costs also recirculate more, as might be expected. The cost associated with water discharge – due to regulation or otherwise – also increases circulation rates. The aridity of a locale is found to have little effect on circulation rates.     

A review of nonlinear oscillatory shear tests: Analysis and application of large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS)

Dynamic oscillatory shear tests are common in rheology and have been used to investigate a wide range of soft matter and complex fluids including polymer melts and solutions, block copolymers, biological macromolecules, polyelectrolytes, surfactants, suspensions, emulsions and beyond. More specifically, small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) tests have become the canonical method for probing the linear viscoelastic properties of these complex fluids because of the firm theoretical background [1], [2], [3] and [4] and the ease of implementing suitable test protocols. However, in most processing operations the deformations can be large and rapid: it is therefore the nonlinear material properties that control the system response. A full sample characterization thus requires well-defined nonlinear test protocols. Consequently there has been a recent renewal of interest in exploiting large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) tests to investigate and quantify the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of complex fluids. In terms of the experimental input, both LAOS and SAOS require the user to select appropriate ranges of strain amplitude (γ₀) and frequency (ω). However, there is a distinct difference in the analysis of experimental output, i.e. the material response. At sufficiently large strain amplitude, the material response will become nonlinear in LAOS tests and the familiar material functions used to quantify the linear behavior in SAOS tests are no longer sufficient. For example, the definitions of the linear viscoelastic moduli G′(ω) and G″(ω) are based inherently on the assumption that the stress response is purely sinusoidal (linear). However, a nonlinear stress response is not a perfect sinusoid and therefore the viscoelastic moduli are not uniquely defined; other methods are needed for quantifying the nonlinear material response under LAOS deformation. In the present review article, we first summarize the typical nonlinear responses observed with complex fluids under LAOS deformations. We then introduce and critically compare several methods that quantify the nonlinear oscillatory stress response. We illustrate the utility and sensitivity of these protocols by investigating the nonlinear response of various complex fluids over a wide range of frequency and amplitude of deformation, and show that LAOS characterization is a rigorous test for rheological models and advanced quality control.     

Pyrochlore‐Free Ferroelectric 0.64Pb(Ni1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.36PbTiO3 Ceramics Synthesized by the Combustion Method

By adopting Nb₂O₅, HNO₃ and coordination agents EDTA as raw materials, pyrochlore‐free 0.64Pb(Ni_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–0.36PbTiO₃(0.64PNN–0.36PT) powders were successfully synthesized via a combustion route. Free of pyrochlore phase was realized by the chelation formation of EDTA‐metal ions which isolate niobium and lead oxides and then prevent the formation of pyrochlore phases, therein generate the desired perovskite phases. Comparing the results with similar samples synthesized by the Columbite method, the new 0.64PNN–0.36PT ceramics here shown much better dielectric and ferroelectric performances: a maximum dielectric constant of 22 856 at 1 kHz and a remnant polarization of 21.6 μC/cm² at 40 kV/cm.     

Gender schema theory and sex role inventories: Some conceptual and psychometric considerations.

Assessed whether the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personality Research Form (PRF) ANDRO scale developed by J. I. Berzins et al (see record 1978-30742-001) are appropriate for investigations of gender schema theory, as outlined by S. L. Bem (see record 1981-25685-001). On the basis of the propositions of gender schema theory, several predictions were made about the psychometric properties that should be exhibited by a valid measure of this construct. Responses of 223 male and 338 female undergraduates to the PRF ANDRO and the BSRI were factor analyzed separately for sex-typed and non-sex-typed groups. Results show consistent and theoretically predictable differences in the factor solutions of these 2 groups. The sex-typed or gender-schematic group obtained bipolar factors, with masculine items loading with one sign, whereas feminine items loaded with the other sign on each factor. Also, sex of S loaded highly on almost every factor for this group. The non-sex-typed group, however, obtained few such distinctly dichotomous factors, and sex of S loaded only on the weaker factors. Results support the construct validity of the BSRI and the PRF ANDRO for use in researching the implications of the gender schema approach. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring process data with the use of robust outlier detection algorithms

To implement on-line process monitoring techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) or partial least squares (PLS), it is necessary to extract data associated with the normal operating conditions from the plant historical database for calibrating the models. One way to do this is to use robust outlier detection algorithms such as resampling by half-means (RHM), smallest half volume (SHV), or ellipsoidal multivariate trimming (MVT) in the off-line model building phase. While RHM and SHV are conceptually clear and statistically sound, the computational requirements are heavy. Closest distance to center (CDC) is proposed in this paper as an alternative for outlier detection. The use of Mahalanobis distance in the initial step of MVT for detecting outliers is known to be ineffective. To improve MVT, CDC is incorporated with MVT. The performance was evaluated relative to the goal of finding the best half of a data set. Data sets were derived from the Tennessee Eastman process (TEP) simulator. Comparable results were obtained for RHM, SHV, and CDC. Better performance was obtained when CDC is incorporated with MVT, compared to using CDC and MVT alone. All robust outlier detection algorithms outperformed the standard PCA algorithm. The effect of auto scaling, robust scaling and a new scaling approach called modified scaling were investigated. With the presence of multiple outliers, auto scaling was found to degrade the performance of all the robust techniques. Reasonable results were obtained with the use of robust scaling and modified scaling.